Johann Smith (born April 25, 1987, in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

) is an American former

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

, winger, and

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

Career

Youth

Smith grew up in Bloomfield, Connecticut and attended the

Watkinson School Watkinson School is a private co-educational independent day school in Hartford, Connecticut, United States. Watkinson is situated on Bloomfield Avenue adjacent to the University of Hartford. It serves students from 6th through 12th grade. Watk ...

, where he played varsity soccer for four years, garnering All-State honors during his junior and senior campaigns. In addition, Smith also enjoyed success on the school's

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

team, once running the

100 meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contest ...

in 10.5 seconds. Smith also played club soccer for Oakwood Soccer Club. He went on trial during Bolton Wanderers preseason training and impressed by what they saw, Smith was offered a three-year scholarship contract with Bolton's youth academy.

Professional

Smith was named as a Bolton substitute for games against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

and

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

during the early part of the 2006-07 season. He made his first team debut for Bolton in their

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

defeat at Charlton Athletic in October 2006, and made his

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

debut against

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

on October 28, 2006, as an 85th-minute substitute for

Kevin Davies Kevin Cyril Davies (born 26 March 1977) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker for Chesterfield, Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Millwall, Bolton Wanderers and Preston North End. He managed Southport in the 2017� ...

. Smith joined

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

on loan in January 2007, making his debut against

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...

as a 63rd-minute substitute, replacing

Kevin Gall Kevin Alexander Gall (born 4 February 1982) is a Welsh people, Welsh former association football, footballer. Gall, a former Wales national under-21 football team, Welsh under-21 international, started his career with Newcastle United F.C., New ...

. He scored his first professional goal on April 29, 2007, against

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...

. Following his injury playing internationally for the United States, Smith missed all of Bolton's 2007 pre-season, including the

Peace Cup The Peace Cup was an invitational pre-season friendly football tournament for club teams which was held every two years by the Sunmoon Peace Football Foundation. It was usually contested by eight clubs from several continents, though 12 teams pa ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. When he regained his fitness, he was loaned out to

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

clubs

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

and

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional association football, football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they wer ...

. In May 2008 he was one of a number of young players released by Bolton manager

Gary Megson Gary John Megson (born 2 May 1959) is an English former football player and manager. He has previously managed Norwich City, Blackpool, Stockport County, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, Bolton Wanderers and ...

. Afterwards, he signed with

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BMO ...

. Smith made his MLS debut on August 17, 2008, as a second-half substitute in a 2–0 loss to the

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

. Midway through the 2009 MLS season, Smith expressed his desire to leave Toronto. After long talks with the Toronto FC GM, both parties decided leaving was in the best interest of Smith, especially with interest for him coming from a club in Croatia. He was released by Toronto FC on June 16, 2009. In July 2009 he signed a two-year contract with

HNK Rijeka Hrvatski nogometni klub Rijeka ( en, Croatian Football Club Rijeka), commonly referred to as NK Rijeka or simply Rijeka, is a Croatian professional association football, football club from the city of Rijeka. HNK Rijeka compete in Croatia's top ...

of the

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n Prva Liga. Smith made his debut the same month in Rijeka's match against Luxembourg side

FC Differdange 03 Foussballclub Differdange 03 is a football club based in Differdange, Luxembourg. History Differdange 03 was formed in 2003 as an amalgam of two clubs from the city of Differdange: FA Red Boys Differdange and AS Differdange. When the clubs mer ...

in the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

qualifying round Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

when he came off the bench. After leaving Rijeka, Johann trained with

Kalmar FF Kalmar Fotbollförening, more commonly known as Kalmar FF, is a Swedish professional football club based in Kalmar. The club is affiliated to Smålands Fotbollförbund and play their home games at Guldfågeln Arena. Formed on 15 June 1910, the clu ...

of the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; en, the All-Swedish, also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan, en, the Football All-Swedish) is a Swedish professional league for men's association football clubs. It was founded in 1924 and is the top tier of the Swedish football lea ...

for two weeks. On March 23, 2010, Kalmar FF and Smith agreed to a one-year contract. On May 25, Kalmar FF terminated their contract with Smith, stating that he did not live up to their expectations. Smith was in talks with

Rijnsburgse Boys Rijnsburgse Boys is a football club from Rijnsburg in the Netherlands. The club was established on 24 March 1930. They currently play in the Tweede Divisie. The club won the Saturday Hoofdklasse A title in the 2005–06, 2006–07 and 2008–0 ...

of the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

Topklasse The Derde Divisie (; en, Third Division), formerly known as Topklasse (; en, Top Class), is the fourth tier of football in the Netherlands, which had its inaugural season as a third tier in 2010–11 and as a fourth tier in 2016–17. The league ...

league in February 2011. However, a contract was not offered. Later in 2011, Smith continued to trial around Europe, most notably with German sides

SV Wacker Burghausen SV Wacker Burghausen is a Football in Germany, German football club based in Burghausen, Altötting, Burghausen, Bavaria and is part of one of the nation's largest sports clubs with some 6,000 members participating in two dozen different sports. ...

Kickers Offenbach Offenbacher Kickers, also known as Kickers Offenbach, is a German association football club in Offenbach am Main, Hesse. The club was founded on 27 May 1901 in the Rheinischer Hof restaurant by footballers who had left established local clubs in ...

and 1. FC Magdeburg. Smith trialed with the New York Red Bulls in the summer of 2012, but was not offered a contract. In September 2012, Smith signed a contract with

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

club

KuPS Kuopion Palloseura (or KuPS) is a Finnish football club, based in the ninth most populated city of Finland, Kuopio. KuPS plays in Finland's Premier League, Veikkausliiga. KuPS has won the Finnish championship six times, the Finnish Cup 4 times ...

of the

Veikkausliiga Veikkausliiga (; sv, Tipsligan) is the premier division of Finnish football, the highest tier of the Finnish football league structure, comprising the top 12 clubs of the country. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agency Veikkau ...

until the end of the season, ending Smith's two-year hiatus from professional soccer. In 2014, Smith spent time with both Adelaide Raiders and Cumberland United in the NPL South Australia. On March 17, 2015, Smith signed with

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

club

FC Edmonton FC Edmonton was a Canadian professional soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club was founded in 2010 and competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 2011 to 2017. The club went on hiatus when NASL ceased competitive operat ...

of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

International

Smith was named to the United States squad for the

2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 16th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup (formerly called the FIFA World Youth Championship), hosted by Canada from 30 June to 22 July 2007. Argentina defeated the Czech Republic in the title game by the score ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, but a pre-tournament injury forced his removal from the team. He has since played for the United States U-20 team, but he has not been called up to the senior squad.

Career statistics

;Notes

Academic career

Smith has been studying at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

since the winter semester of 2021/2022. He is studying American history as a major in order to qualify for medical studies at Stanford. In addition to his studies, he is a volunteer coach of the men's soccer team at his university.

References

External links

Profile
at Boltonwanderers.us *
Profile
at veikkausliiga.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Johann Living people 1987 births Sportspeople from Hartford, Connecticut Soccer players from Connecticut Men's association football forwards Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players Darlington F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players Toronto FC players HNK Rijeka players Kalmar FF players Kuopion Palloseura players Adelaide Croatia Raiders SC players Cumberland United FC players FC Edmonton players Premier League players English Football League players Major League Soccer players Croatian Football League players Allsvenskan players Veikkausliiga players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players American expatriate men's soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Canada American expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Expatriate men's footballers in Croatia American expatriate sportspeople in Croatia Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden Expatriate men's footballers in Finland United States men's under-20 international soccer players People from Bloomfield, Connecticut Sportspeople from Hartford County, Connecticut American men's soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Sweden American expatriate sportspeople in Finland